Fall in Domain Name Values — The Coming

It’s only a matter of time ahead of sales prices of second tier TLDs fall.

Is it unwise to invest in generic non .com domain names right now? With the exception of ccTLDs and perhaps .org, I think so.

Sometime within the next 2-3 years we’ll see a flood of fresh top level domain names on the internet. We’ll see some topical TLDs such as .radio, .eco, and .radio. We’ll see geographical TLDs such as .nyc and .vegas. We’ll see some top level domains in non-Latin characters. But most importantly when it comes to existing non .com domains, we’ll see generic TLDs such as .web and .site.

I don’t think many of these TLDs will be “successful” in the traditional sense. But they will have the effect of depressing values on .biz, .info, and other existing top level domains excluding .com.

Think regarding it. Right now you might pay $5,000 for save.info. But if save.web or save.site was available, would you still pay that much? I doubt it.

I’m not being a .com snob. I own plenty of non .com domain names, and I fully expect their value to fall.

Some people, counting former ICANN staffer Kieren McCarthy, think even .com has seen its peak. I disagree with him, although I won’t be able to prove him wrong for another 10 years or so.

My suggestion: don’t pay premium prices for existing second tier top level domain names. Unless you’re buying them from me.